Global South Cities Face Shortage of Cooling Green Spaces
Recent research indicates that cities in the Global South are significantly more exposed to extreme heat due to a lack of cooling green spaces. A study led by an international team, including researchers from Nanjing, Exeter, Aarhus, and North Carolina State universities, found that these cities have only 70% of the cooling capacity provided by urban greenery compared to their counterparts in the Global North. This disparity exacerbates the effects of rising temperatures and urban heat island effects, which make cities hotter than rural areas and increase the incidence of heat-related illnesses and deaths.
The research revealed that urban green spaces can cool surface temperatures in an average city by about 3°C during warm seasons. However, the cooling benefit for an average resident in an Asian city is 2.2°C, compared to 3.4°C for a city dweller in the North. The study highlighted that all of the top ten cities for cooling capacity are in the United States, with Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham leading, followed by Kansas and Baltimore. The researchers emphasized the potential for enhancing urban cooling and reducing inequality by improving green infrastructure in the Global South, which includes Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
